Mojo Pork

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Have you ever noticed how citrus is paired with fresh herbs in many cultures and cuisines throughout the world? Think about it for a moment – Cilantro lime rice anyone? How about grilled lamb with fresh lemon and oregano or skip the meat and fill up on pappardelle with lemon and basil. Top grilled fish with a crisp fennel salad with fresh orange and basil or a classic roasted chicken with rosemary and lemon. I could go on and on. Fresh citrus and bright herbs are a match made in culinary haven and the sour tangy notes of orange and earthy oregano of this Cuban inspired Mojo pork is no exception.

In case you have never heard of Mojo Pork, you may think it says “Mojoe.” However, the “j” is pronounced as if it were an “h” so it sounds like MoHo” Say it out loud!

So let’s get started. Traditional mojo is made with pork shoulder, but you could also use a pork “butt” which is actually also a part of the shoulder, just higher up on the animal; and because it is used less it has more fat. The lower shoulder generally has the skin still in tack which I like for this recipe because it keeps the meat moist during long slow cooking process and when cooked in an oven results in a crisp exterior.

Let’s Make the Sauce

The beauty of my mojo is in the sauce; it is used not only to marinate the pork, but part of it is reserved to pour over the cooked meat to add a fresh bright flavor.

You will need about 1 cup of fresh citrus juice. Traditionally you would use a sour orange which is not readily available in the grocery store. I use a combination of orange, lemon and lime juices. Fresh really is best here, but if you’re in a pinch you can use bottled juice.

To make the sauce combine 1 cup citrus juice, 1 Tablespoon ground cumin, 1 Tablespoon freshly ground black pepper, 1 Tablespoon Kosher salt, 1 Tablespoon mesquite honey (or any type on honey), 10 garlic cloves, ⅓ cup roughly chopped fresh oregano and ⅓ cup olive oil or light tasting oil.

Combine in an immersion blender or regular blender and blend until well combined.

Pour ½ into a container and save in the refrigerator until serving time. Make sure not to let any of the saved marinade touch the raw pork.

Pour the remaining marinade over your pork and allow it to sit for several hours or up to overnight.

Let’s Cook It

You can cook my mojo pork in a traditioanl oven, roaster oven or slow cooker.

I chose a roaster oven for a few reasons:

1. I just got this awesome new roaster oven!!! Yay me!
2. The twins attack the oven NON STOP and this is a safer way to cook something low and slow all day away from their curious little hands.
3. I wanted to get a crisp exterior and that works best in an oven atmosphere where the moisture can get away from the meat.

As I mentioned above – you can absolutely do this in the oven or a slow cooker, I just wanted to play with my new kitchen toy! If you are using the oven, line a baking tray or roasting pan with aluminum foil; if you are using a roaster oven line the bottom with aluminum foil; and if you are using a slow cooker – you don’t need to line it at all.

Add the pork and any marinade it is sitting in, to the pan, roaster pan or slow cooker and cook it low and slow. My roaster was set to 275 degrees. I would set the oven to 275 and the slow cooker on the low setting.

Cook all day or better yet over night. This needs a good 10-12 hours of slow cook time and trust me it is worth the wait.

You can check on it now and again and baste the drippings onto the top of the meat.

Here is a picture about 5 hours into the cooking time.

And here we are at 11 hours.

See that dark brown crisp skin? That stuff you can’t buy, my friends, it takes time and love and patience. You can only achieve the crisp skin if you use a roaster oven or traditional oven. The slow cooker holds more moisture in and the skin will not crisp up – which is not a problem. You can just remove and discard the skin and shred the meat.

Let’s Serve It

Once the pork is finished cooking, remove and shred – the meat should just fall apart if you cooked it correctly.

To serve, add a hearty mound of shredded pork to a bowl filled with rice and seasoned black beans and top with a few spoonfuls of the reserved marinade. DELICIOUS. You can make it look fancy with some fresh oregano and wedges of any extra citrus fruit you have.

I hope you add my Mojo Pork to next week’s meal plan and that you enjoy it as much as I do. Need help planning your family’s meals? Get my free Family Meal Planner straight to your in box, when you sing up here. 

Until next time, happy cooking!

Laura

If you enjoyed this recipe, check out my Slow Cooker Pulled Pork Recipe here.

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